Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, March 13, 1990 TAG: 9003133612
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B4 EDITION: EVENING
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Maurice LeFranc of the National Wildlife Federation shares that fear.
"Now the nesting areas are reaching saturation. The eagles are competing with the high desire for vacation homes along the (Chesapeake) bay or rivers leading into the bay," the director of the federation's Institute for Wildlife Research said Monday.
"Habitat loss due to development is the next DDT for the eagles," he said.
DDT, a popular pesticide, became an increasingly invasive part of the food chain in the 1950s and 1960s. Eagles ingested the pesticide with the prey they ate. Eggs laid by contaminated eagles had thinner shells and seldom hatched.
In the 1930s, there were an estimated 400 to 600 pairs of nesting eagles along the bay. By 1970, that figure had dropped to 70 pair. In 1989, researchers at the College of William and Mary estimated the population had rebounded to 180 pairs.
Once the pesticide was banned, the hatch rate began to increase to such a point that the National Fish and Wildlife Service is considering moving the eagle off the endangered species list and onto the threatened species list in 43 states including Virginia.
The wildlife service estimates there are 2,660 nesting pairs of eagles in the United States, excluding Alaska, where the eagles have never been threatened, and Hawaii, which has no bald eagles. The service credits the 1972 ban on DDT and better public education to the habitat needs of eagles.
"It is important to note that reclassification would in no way indicate a lessening of concern for the future of the nation's symbol," said John Turner, director of the wildlife service.
Byrd said the eagles are losing out in the competition for habitat to condominiums and shopping malls.
by CNB